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It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is the premiere of Season 4 on FOX comedy That '70s Show. Synopsis Eric sees what his life would have been like if he and Donna never dated. Turns out that Hyde was waiting for Donna after the Todd Rundgren concert. Eric makes a journey to the past and the future and finds that their relationship changed a lot of things. Starring :Topher Grace as Eric Forman :Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart :Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso :Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde :Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti :Wilmer Valderrama as Fez :Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty Forman :Kurtwood Smith as Red Forman Special Guest Star :Wayne Knight as Angel Guest starring :Cynthia Lamontagne as Rhonda Tate :Jennifer Lyons as Pam Macy :Timmy Deters as Jake Trivia *Tommy Chong is now a series regular, taking over the vacancies left by Midge Pinciotti and Laurie Forman *First appearance of Rhonda Tate. *Don Stark and Tommy Chong absent from the main cast in this episode. *In the alternate timeline, Eric and Kelso likely did not leave the gang like they did in the actual continuity during Season 8, as Eric went to become a teacher in Africa while Kelso went to Chicago for a job and to be closer to his daughter. Due to this, he did not have a daughter through Brooke in the alternate timeline either. Goofs *In the flashback scenes to season one in the basement, you can see the smoke detector hung up by the door, even though Red didn't install the smoke detector until season three. *Although the Angel shows Eric an alternate universe where Donna and Hyde are going to be married, neither Midge nor Bob can be seen at the ceremony. *In 1983 it shows that Red and Kitty had another son name Jake who is at least six years old. This means he would have been born around 1977. Red and Kitty not only did not have anymore kids but Kitty had menopause which prevented her from having another child. *In the background of the scene in 1988, it says that they are the graduating class of 1979. However everyone (bar Jackie) graduated in 1978. Timeline The alternate timeline diverges from the end of That 70's Pilot, in which Donna and Eric never dated. While having no real consequence on the world, the group and their future is heavily affected. Unlike in the regular timeline, on May 17, 1976 Donna chose not to kiss Eric, instead choosing to just go home. As a consequence, she came home to meet Hyde who was interested in her at the time, leading to them becoming a couple. Eric Forman As a result of his relationship with Donna, Eric became more confident and assertive towards his father's strict rulings. In this new timeline, he remains repressed and never stands up for himself, causing him to join the chess club in high school and as an adult sell waterbeds. This spills over into his first romantic relationship, with Rhonda Tate. She is bossy, domineering and berates Eric, who doesn't protest but takes it despite how she consistently cheats on him. Their relationship continues well into their 20s, until Eric finally dumps Rhonda. He later meets her at an '88 Class Reunion, where she's changed completely. After the prime Eric tells the Angel how he still thinks the alternate Eric was lucky to not date Donna, the Angel enable the two Eric's to finally talk. After the prime Eric still refuses to listen, the alternate Eric's final appearance has him asking the Angel if there is any way he can help him, which the Angel replies by saying he can't. Steven Hyde His romance with Donna means that Hyde never moved in with the Formans due to not having the same kind of friendship with Eric as he did in the prime timeline, and as a result his rebellion becomes fully fledged, leaving him with a future entirely of his own creation. He and Donna stay together and get married in '83, while Donna is pregnant with their kid, but he ends up going to prison. As a result, he isn't present at the '88 Class Reunion. Michael Kelso Michael and Jackie never got back together at the Prom and, as a result, Michael started dating Pam Macy, who he is married to in '83 at Hyde & Donna's wedding – although he flies off to have sex with Jackie, continuing his cheating teenage ways. Kelso is a news anchor, but at the '88 reunion revealed to have been fired from his position as he was doing the news in his underwear and drunk. He's now got a beer belly and is indicated to be drinking, but Jackie still wants him at the reunion. Due to losing his job, he was forced to become Eric's employee, but doesn't respect him or cares about his job. Jackie Burkhart Since Hyde never took Jackie to the Prom, she didn't reunite with Kelso and thus never became part of the group or friends with Donna. Jackie remains her early, shallow self and becomes a stewardess. However, because she never broke up with Kelso on her own she never moved on from her feelings for him and ended up still wanting him in '83 and '88, even when he had become a deadbeat selling waterbeds as an employee for Eric. Donna Donna and Hyde become a couple and Donna is a much less assertive, insecure woman, following Hyde's lead and getting tattoos for him, along with developing a similar personality This indicates that Eric's belief in Donna's writing abilities and her future was a notable support in her life, especially when her parents divorced. She stays in a relationship with Hyde, although it is indicated that both do not benefit from their union, and they eventually marry at Bob's house in '83. At their high school reunion in '88, Donna meets Eric and tells him that Hyde is in prison and that she used to have a crush on Eric in high school, but never acted on it. In '88, it appears Donna has abandoned her former rebellious personality and has become upset with how her life has turned out, and appears to still have some lingering feelings for Eric despite having married Hyde and had his children. Fez Fez oddly enough stays mostly the same, following the fads of the times and performing 'I Ran' at the '88 reunion. He also sports A Flock of Seagulls hair when the gang sit in the circle in '83 at Donna & Hyde's wedding. Also, when compared to the lives of the other members of the group, Fez is the only one who seemed to be happy with how his life ended up, as he didn't appear to be upset or miserable as an adult. While Fez benefited from the heart and friendship of the group, it's clear that this did not develop without the union of Donna and Eric. Kitty & Red Kitty has a late baby around 1977, who is much more like the son Red claims he always wanted. Unlike in the regular timeline, neither Red or Kitty developed a proper sense of respect for Eric when he is an adult, primarily due to still living with them. One important difference in this timeline is that Kitty, in a stark contrast to the main version, wants Eric out of the house unlike the main timeline Kitty, who doesn't want him to move away. Jake Forman Jake Forman is the son of Red and Kitty Forman who was presumably born around 1977. Despite his young age Jake is already what Red always wanted in a son, being tough and strong unlike Eric. Because of his birth, Kitty also began to stop babying Eric and move her affections onto Jake. Because of this, Jake's birth removes the relationship Eric had with his parents and further prevented him from improving it. At 6 years old at Donna & Hyde's wedding in '83, Jake Forman is seen kicking his older brother in the shins, which Red applauds, seeming much more like the stereotypical jock type. Pam Macy In the alternate timeline, Pam Macy continued her relationship with Michael Kelso since he took her to the school prom, which led to them to be already married in 1983 at Donna and Hyde's wedding. While still being married to Kelso in '88 despite how he has failed in life, is appears she never found out about how Kelso cheated on her with Jackie Burkhart over the years. Rhonda Tate As a result of not dating Donna, Eric asked Rhonda to the dance. This began their doomed relationship, with Rhonda being the more assertive and mean of the two. This relationship continued when they were adults, but ended when Eric dumped her. Ironically, this convinced Rhonda to change how she lives he life, resulting in her being a thin and attractive woman at the '88 Class Reunion. Category:Episodes Category:Season 4 Category:Eric